Ankaful impasse: Mental Health NGO calls for swift gov’t intervention

An NGO, Friends of Mental Health (FMH), has registered its displeasure with current happening at the Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital.

According to FMH, calls for the removal of the director of the hospital, Dr Eugene Dordoye and the subsequent strike action by nurses have gotten it worried.

It said it has noted with growing concern events unfolding which have “left us with a sense of disquiet about how these actions are affecting the mentally ill in that community and beyond.”

Their concerns follow news that the nurses and physician assistants at the Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital have laid down their tools, demanding that their director is removed from his post with immediate effect.

Dr Eugene Dordoye is being accused of lack of good human relations. The workers claim this is dangerous to their very lives.

“Dr Eugene Dordoye’s presence in the hospital is a psychological stress to us. So, we are notifying our immediate supervisor, who is the Health Authority CEO to take action.

According to the nurses, they are not coming back to work until the director is removed, Emmanuel Ofori, spokesperson of the Ankaful Psychiatric nurses group said.

FMH is, therefore, calling for a swift action from government and the relevant stakeholders to intervene to resolve the impasse to the satisfaction of both aggrieved parties.

“We are certain that a swift resolution will ensure the restoration of adequate mental health care delivery to the patients in the Central region and surrounding areas,” it added.